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(Beyond Pesticides, June 16, 2015) Franceâ€™s Ecology Minister Segolene Royal announced Sunday aÂ call toÂ stopÂ the sale of the popular Monsanto herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) from garden centers. The announcement comes just a couple ofÂ months after the active ingredient, glyphosate, was classified in March as â€śprobably carcinogenic to humansâ€ť by the United Nationâ€™s International Agency for Research on […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 11, 2015) On July 1, Ontario will become the first jurisdiction in North America to officially begin reducing the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid-coated corn and soybean seeds, an action that has been in the making since 2014. The new rules should curb the acreage planted with such seeds by 80 […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 29, 2015) A report released by the Canadian Senateâ€™s Committee on Agriculture and Forestry this week acknowledges that neonicotinoids are harmful to bees, although it adds that more scientific data is needed before making any policies in response. The report was released exactly one week after a similar announcement by the White […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 28, 2015) The same day that trade representatives from United States met with Secretary-General Catherine Day of the European Commission (EC), she sent a letter to the ECâ€™s Environment Director-General Karl Falkenberg telling him to scrap draft criteria that could have led to a ban on over 30 endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemical […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 21, 2015) Last week, Health Canada opened public comments on its reevaluation decision for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsantoâ€™s Roundup herbicide. The agency chose to continue allowance of the herbicide, but include some changes to the label of glyphosate-containing products. The decision comes shortly after the International Agency for Research on […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 20, 2015) New details emerged last week after a Canadian volunteer group, Pesticide Free Alberta (PFA), received records from the City of Edmonton regarding ground and aerial application of Dursban 2.5, a restricted insecticide (in both Canada and the US), in close proximity to residential areas to kill off mosquito larvae. The […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2015) A world renowned entomologist, who reevaluated data from a controversial study on neonicotinoid insecticides, has concluded that UK government scientists misinterpreted the findings when theyÂ concluded that restrictive policy wasn’t necessary on the bee-killing pesticide. David Goulson, Ph.D., a bee researcher and professor at the University of Sussex in Falmer, said […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 10, 2015) U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) yesterday called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday to immediately investigate the specific use of pentachlorophenolÂ (penta or PCP), a toxic wood preservative, to treatÂ utility poles throughout Long Island and urgedÂ Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG) Long Island to immediately suspend further use […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 20, 2015) A broad-based coalition is urging Canadaâ€™s Prime Minister Stephen Harper to put a stop to proposed changes to federal aquaculture regulations, citing damage to the environment and existing businesses. The proposed amendments to the federal Fisheries Act would exempt the aquaculture industry from provisions that â€śprohibit the release of deleterious […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 11, 2015) In 2008, France announced it would voluntarily cut pesticide use by 50 percent by 2018, and emerged as the European leader inÂ reducing pesticide dependency. With its plan faltering, the European Union’s (EU) biggest agricultural producer and pesticide user has announced the expansion ofÂ a network of pioneer farms experimenting with alternative […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 10, 2015) Scientists at the Universities of Dundee and St. Andrews in Scotland have found evidence confirming that the levels of neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides bees are likely to encounter in the wild impair the pollinatorâ€™s brain cells, resulting in colony declines. Bees and other wild pollinators provide services of over $125 billion […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 5, 2015) A brewingÂ battle in the European Union (EU) over removing from the marketÂ Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC)s hasÂ heated up. An investigative report inÂ The Guardian Â reveals that a European Union (EU) scientific paper, prepared to assist in the development of new mandatory EDC risk assessment standards, was never made public. According to the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 28, 2015) Global decline of pollinators and pollination services will have a devastating impact on the nutritional health of people in developing countries, especially women and children, if left unabated, according to a new study from scientists at the University of Vermont and Harvard University. This research is the first to examine […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 09, 2015) New closed-door international trade agreement proposals between the U.S. and EU could weaken pesticide standards and threaten the U.S. organic food industry. Set forth by European and U.S. trade associations, the proposals were metÂ with strong disapproval by numerous non-governmental organizations (NGO) and non-profits. Beyond Pesticides and over a hundred other […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 2, 2014) Last week, the government of Ontario, Canada proposed a plan to reduce the use of neonicotinoid (neonic)-treated corn and soybean seeds by 80% as part of a broad initiative to improve pollinator health. It sets a goal of reducing over-winter honey bee deaths to 15% by 2020, and calls for […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 19, 2014) A group of doctors and nurses is urging the Ontario government to ban neonicotinoid pesticides, blamed for the decline of bees and other insect pollinators. As Canadaâ€™s first neonicotinoid campaign organized by doctors and nurses, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the Registered Nursesâ€™ Association of Ontario […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 7, 2014) Environmental organizations are calling on the Canadian government toÂ reject the approval of yet another bee-killing pesticide called flupyradifurone. According to Health Canadaâ€™s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) â€“responsible for regulating pesticides in Canadaâ€“ the new pesticide exhibits systemic behavior and â€śmay pose a risk to bees, non-target beneficial arthropods, and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 24, 2014) The U.S. government is opposing international effortsÂ Â under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, supported byÂ countries worldwide, to halt the global use of the toxic chemical wood preservative, pentachlorophenolÂ (PCP), which is widely used in the U.S. to treat wood utility poles. U.S. government officials are out of step with countries […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 29, 2014) The global fight to establish better protections from genetic contamination causedÂ by genetically engineered (GE) crops suffered a legal setback in Australia this week. A ruling of the Supreme Court of Western AustraliaÂ found that farmer Steve March could not seek compensation after losing his organic certification as a result of a […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 1, 2014) A recent study, Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet, led by Liza Oates found lower trances of organophosphate metabolites in consumers that ate organic food for a week compared to those who ate a conventional diet. The studyÂ adds to the scientific literature that […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 28, 2014) Last week,Â theÂ Rodale Institute, home to Americaâ€™s longest-running side-by-side comparison of chemical and organic agriculture, published a white paper to support its announcement of a global campaign to generate public awareness of organic agricultural practices ability to limit the effects of climate change. The paper singles out several â€śregenerative organic agricultureâ€ť […]